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Is time to talk about the main topic of Express.
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At the National Library of Kosovo
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days ago, an exhibition talking about
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everyday life in North Korea was open.
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We had a reportage about that,
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and we gave information about
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the content of this exhibition.
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But, we will talk again about this cultural
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event since it opened a big debate.
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Mainly because most of them were negative
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We will discuss them now in this talk.
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Photos are spreading in facebook pretending
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that the Library has replaced photographs
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of our Renaissance authors with those
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of the North Korean Leader.
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If these negative comments are righteous
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or is a total misunderstanding
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of the concept of the exhibition
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will be discussed here today
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with our guest from the National Library
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Rudina Tahiraj.
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Welcome Rudina, welcome to Express
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Thank you for the invitation.
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Thank you too, for accepting our invitation
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to clarify this situation and the debate
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that probably you did not expect to happen.
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So Rudina let's talk again about
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what concerned the public
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about the last exhibition at the Library.
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What's about this exhibition?
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Thank you! Firstly because of
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the space you gave us to be here.
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Not because of our need to clarify anything
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because I think everything is already clear
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what the Library or the Author
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wanted to present in this exhibition.
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But most of all to add information
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where it's needed.
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For our public.
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So, the author is from Norway.
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and the exhibition is also supported by
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the Norwegian Embassy.
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The author himself was present at the opening
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He addressed the audience
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but probably he failed to explain
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the concept and idea behind the exhibition.
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I think that in general
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at the opening ceremonies
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explaining the concept is not the goal.
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I believe we live in a time
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when the concepts are given before.
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The Library and Traavik.Info already did it.
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The opening ceremony is a kind of party
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in our case, the artist Morten Traavik
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was there, the director of the Library
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Mr. Fazli Gajraku and also
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the Norwegian Ambassador.
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Said that the public had all the chances
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to see the full photographic installation
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and also a documentary film
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by Morten Traavik, done in the time
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he was in North Korea.
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What I want to stress is that
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Mr. Morten Traavik has a long and varied
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experience in North Korea.
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And he really knows their everyday life.
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Morten Traavik came in Kosovo
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to present who he perceives
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the everyday life in North Korea.
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In what he acknowledges as a dictatorship
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and isolation of a country
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in these modern times.
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As we talk you can see some footage
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from the exhibition
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there are people visiting it.
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With what you could see,
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was the public interested to see the exhibition
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even by curiosity after the comments
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and the debate started on Facebook?
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I want to say that unfortunately
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this was an exhibition which did not
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attract attention on an opening day,
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even thought it was well promoted.
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The media was not interested in it.
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They become interested in it,
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if I can call it like that,
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after individuals or different groups
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thought it was reasonable to talk
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about the exhibition or criticizing it.
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I think that to criticize an exhibition
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first, you have to be informed.
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All the background of the exhibition
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was available on different platforms.
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The concept of the author and also
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the content of the exhibition,
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all the information was there I think.
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And to create an idea or
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criticize another you have to visit the LIbrary.
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Exactly. Before we talk more about the concept
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of the exhibition, as you mentioned,
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to add more information about it.
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Now we will see an interview with
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the author of the exhibition done
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during the opening ceremony.
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I'm following up on the discussion
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where you left it, before the author's interview.
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Most of the people had spoken before
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actually seeing which were the photos
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exposed. They're focused on
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the image of the dictator, Kim.
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And probably just mentioning his name
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produces debate without having
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much information.
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Could you Rudina explain to us
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very shortly, since you represent the Library
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why was interesting for you to include
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in your repertoire this exhibition.
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And also about the subject, it presents,
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why do you think it was important to share
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with the public?
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Morten Traavik this July submited
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a request to the Library
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to bring the exhibition Guardians of Paradise
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in Pristina.
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Apparently the National Library impressed
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him for its architecture
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and as a cult object and important object
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for the preservation of the cultural
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heritage and arts.
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In his request was clear all the background
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of the exhibition.
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Meaning that the exhibition
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Guardians of Paradise was premiered
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in Gjirokastra, at Kadare's House.
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So, an exhibition depicting everyday life
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in a totalitarian country like North Korea,
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was shown in, as the author says,
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in the land where the dictator of Albania was born
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and at the same time Ismail Kadare.
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And because of him, Ismail Kadare,
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being an important figure for our culture,
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he decides to confront in this context
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a dictator like Kim of North Korea.
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The same happens in the National Library.
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According to his concept,
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he wants to confront these opposed figures.
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We are talking about the Albanian
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Renaissance authors, who prepared the
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the cultural path for Kosovo,
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confronted with Kim.
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Father and son of North Korea.
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Obviously it depends on the public
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how to view it, even literaly
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this confrontation we did with Naim Frasheri
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or other Rennainssance authors with Kim.
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It is up to the public to see it as
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conjunction of figures
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or as space where opposed figures
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are confronted.
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And obviously this can arouse something
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to the population.
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I feel sorry it aroused only criticism
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but there is much more behind the figures
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and art than just the faces of people
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they represent.
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It is not uncommon that artists use
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their work to provoke debate, maybe this
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was also the case of the Norwegian artist.
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From the beginning
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it was explained that the purpose
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of this exhibition was not to promote
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dictatorship but to show maybe
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the opposite of what we are living,
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to show the life in what we call dictatorship.
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Did you think about the reactions
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before opening the exhibition?
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Did you predict it somehow this reaction?
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I think is in the core of every art work,
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of every photographic installation,
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of every exhibition to tease the thinking
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but absolutely not to provoke the population.
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The Library never attempted to provoke
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or hurt its public.
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Indeed we hoped for reactions
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but for this kind of reactions,
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we couldn't imagine.
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What I want to emphasize again
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is that the public
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did not take sufficient information
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about the content of the exhibition.
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There is a quote by Milan Kundera in the
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beginning of the exhibition which
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eliminates 100% any allegation of the
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the exhibition being a promotion
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of dictatorship.
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And then you have the photographs
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expressing strongly
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the everyday life of the North Koreans
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through dictatorship and the system
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in which they live.
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In a way, the author wanted to share
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his experience and what he saw in
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a country that is not that easy to visit.
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Someone from the Library staff told
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to our correspondent that the students
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who are the people that most frenquently
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use the Library were not happy about
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this exhibition.
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Did they have the chance to approach you
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and get more information before reacting?
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Or is the case of disinterest
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toward the content.
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As I said before, the information
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was available everywhere.
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Days before the opening we gave flyers,
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also, the installation was implemented
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days before meaning that was enough space
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to get informed.
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If the students did not like what they saw,
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I can say that the exhibition
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was not set to be liked or disliked
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by anyone.
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I was set to provoke thinking.
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An exactly on the principle of allowing
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an artist to establish a communication
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with our public, we collaborated with
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author for this exhibition.
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The debates are always well received,
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but we think that always when you discuss
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about something,
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you should have the proper information.
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I really hope that after this interview
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all of those who somehow felt hurt
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by this exhibition could get through
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some more information.
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And if then they'll still have the same
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opinion is on everybody's right to think
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Did you as Library, ever thought or
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at least were you influenced by
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the comments and critics mainly in the
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social media,
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to take down the exhibition before
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the announced date?
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In fact, I don't think we can
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call it proper criticism,
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what has been done until now.
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It is more a confrontation of ideas...
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the Library want's to clarify the reason
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why we chose to make this collaboration
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We are there
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In fact, how can we stand behind a
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criticism of promoting dictatorship
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when we are not doing that?
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I don't know if taking down the exhibition
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would be reasonable.
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Let's talk a bit about that
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because of many requests coming
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at our newsroom to visit again
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the exhibition since we talked about that
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from the beginning.
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Because they don't understand how
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we reacted and accepted this exhibition
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and the work of this author.
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But for the ones that want, is there
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any option contact the Library
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even via web pages or something else?
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Yes, we are absolutely transparent
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with everybody.
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We, the Library, did not receive any
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direct criticism.
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Directly to us.
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We accepted questions from the media,
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and we responded to different questions
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But we saw a tendency from the media
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to reconfirm the criticism that they found
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from the public.
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I'm saying public but actually I don't know
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if they are the public or just some individuals
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who took a lot of attention.
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And actually our answers
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were not transmitted correctly.
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It was a tendency to not receive
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information about the exhibition or the artist.
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Except one media who talked directly to
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Mr. Morten Traavik.
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No one else wanted to communicate with him.
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It means that the author knows about the debate.
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Yes, and he is open to comments
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and sincere discussions
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about the exhibition.
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Is he surprised about the reactions
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in Kosovo?
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Because I believe he has shown
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this exhibition in other places
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and I don't know how was the reaction
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in other places?
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Mr. Traavik is very surprised
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and disappointed
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Not disappointed from the people
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of Kosovo but from the expectations
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about bringing his work.
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He knows all had happened after the opening
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and he is open for everybody,
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for people or media
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who wants more information.
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But also with a little google research
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you can get links and informations
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about Mr. Morten Traavik and his art.
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I hope for those who want to know
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more can go online
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and find more answers.
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We are at the end of our time
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shortly if you want to say something
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to our public especially to those
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who now wants to really visit
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the exhibition to find out if
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they unintentionally prejudged
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the exhibition or not.
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How long will the exhibition last?
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These are the last days of the exhibition
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meaning in the 11th will be the last day.
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So there are only 3 days.
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Except for Sunday that we are closed.
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We invite everybody to visit the exhibition
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to change their mind or just to get informed
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Or simply to tease their critic mind.
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We welcome everybody.
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Rudina thanks you for being here
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we'll welcome you for other talks
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hoping to have good debates too.
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Thank you very much
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Thank you very much